English as a Second Language (ESL)

The English as a Second Language (ESL) program offers students a comprehensive selection of courses to improve their knowledge of and skills with English for both personal and academic purposes. The ESL program also introduces international students to American culture and customs. Courses range from pre-collegiate (non-degree-applicable) through transfer levels. ESL 101 Reading and Composition satisfies the graduation requirement in writing competency and satisfies a general education requirement for the associate degree.

Research and synthesize information on topics using library and Internet sources.

Analyze and self-correct grammatical, semantic, and lexical errors.

Participate appropriately in an American college classroom by demonstrating cultural awareness, personal responsibility, and ethical behavior.

ESL 020English Language Skills II3 Units54 lecture hours, 9 lab hours

Grade Mode: Pass/No Pass, Standard Letter

Prerequisite(s): Placement is based on multiple assessment measures.

A writing course for high-beginning English language students. Emphasis on production and comprehension of simple phrases, basic sentence construction, introductory paragraph writing skills and basic vocabulary. One of three core courses in ESL Level 2. NOTE: THE UNITS EARNED FOR THIS COURSE MAY NOT BE APPLIED TOWARD THE 60 UNITS FOR GRADUATION.

ESL 022Pronunciation and Conversation II2 Units36 lecture hours

Grade Mode: Pass/No Pass, Standard Letter

Prerequisite(s): Placement is based on multiple assessment measures including the Accuplacer placement test.

A course for beginning ESL students in comprehension and communication of spoken English. Emphasis is on building confidence in oral expression and refining pronunciation. NOTE: THE UNITS EARNED FOR THIS COURSE MAY NOT BE APPLIED TOWARD THE 60 UNITS FOR GRADUATION.

ESL 024Reading/Vocabulary/Idioms II3 Units54 lecture hours

Grade Mode: Pass/No Pass, Standard Letter

Prerequisite(s): Placement is based on multiple assessment measures.

A reading, vocabulary, and idioms course for low-intermediate ESL students. The course is designed to help students expand their vocabulary and use of idioms through oral and written practice and improve their reading comprehension. One of three core courses in ESL Level 2. NOTE: THE UNITS FOR THIS COURSE MAY NOT BE APPLIED TOWARD THE 60 UNITS FOR GRADUATION.

ESL 026Grammar Fundamentals II3 Units54 lecture hours

Grade Mode: Pass/No Pass, Standard Letter

Prerequisite(s): Placement is based on multiple assessment measures.

A course for low-intermediate ESL students seeking to improve their grammatical accuracy in writing and speaking. Intensive review and practice of verb tenses, noun forms, adjectives, adverbs and modals, in a communicative context. One of three core courses in ESL Level 2. NOTE: THE UNITS EARNED FOR THIS COURSE MAY NOT BE APPLIED TOWARD THE 60 UNITS FOR GRADUATION.

A writing course for low-intermediate English language students. Emphasis on production and comprehension of longer phrases, compound and complex sentence construction, low-intermediate paragraph writing skills and vocabulary. One of three core courses in ESL Level 3. NOTE: THE UNITS EARNED FOR THIS COURSE MAY NOT BE APPLIED TOWARD THE 60 UNITS FOR GRADUATION.

Placement is based on multiple assessment measures. A course for low-intermediate students in comprehension and communication of spoken English. Emphasis is on building confidence in oral expression, refining pronunciation, and reducing accent. NOTE: THE UNITS EARNED FOR THIS COURSE MAY NOT BE APPLIED TOWARD THE 60 UNITS FOR GRADUATION.

Prerequisite(s): Placement is based on multiple assessment measures or successful completion of ESL 024.

A reading, vocabulary, and idioms course for intermediate ESL students. The course is designed to help students further expand vocabulary, idiom usage and reading skills. Emphasis is on building vocabulary and idiom usage through oral and written practice and improving reading comprehension. One of three core courses in ESL Level 3. NOTE: THE UNITS EARNED FOR THIS COURSE MAY NOT BE APPLIED TOWARD THE 60 UNITS FOR GRADUATION.

ESL 036Grammar Fundamentals III3 Units54 lecture hours

Grade Mode: Pass/No Pass, Standard Letter

Prerequisite(s): Placement is based on multiple assessment measures or successful completion of ESL 026.

A course for low-intermediate ESL students seeking to improve their grammatical accuracy in written English. Intensive review and practice of meaning and use of syntactic structures such as verb tense, modals, noun and adjective forms, questions and negatives, passive voice, adverbs, and articles. One of three core courses in ESL Level 3. NOTE: THE UNITS FOR THIS COURSE MAY NOT BE APPLIED TOWARD THE 60 UNITS FOR GRADUATION.

This course prepares high-intermediate ESL students for ESL 100. It includes grammar, vocabulary, usage, and the writing skills of sentence and paragraph development. It also previews essay development and writing. One of three core courses in ESL Level 4. NOTE: THE UNITS EARNED FOR THIS COURSE MAY NOT BE APPLIED TOWARD THE 60 UNITS FOR GRADUATION.

ESL 042Pronunciation and Conversation IV2 Units36 lecture hours

Grade Mode: Pass/No Pass, Standard Letter

Prerequisite(s): Placement is based on multiple assessment measures.

Stronlgy recommended: For students enrolled in ESL Level 4 core courses. A course for high intermediate students in comprehension and communication of spoken English. Emphasis is on building confidence in oral expression, refining pronunciation and reducing accent. NOTE: THE UNITS EARNED FOR THIS COURSE MAY NOT BE APPLIED TOWARD THE 60 UNITS FOR GRADUATION.

A reading, vocabulary, and idioms course for high intermediate ESL students, designed to facilitate appropriate strategies for improving reading comprehension and developing vocabulary and idiom usage. Emphasis is on college-level vocabulary and reading skills. One of three core courses in ESL Level 4. NOTE: THE UNITS EARNED FOR THIS COURSE MAY NOT BE APPLIED TOWARD THE 60 UNITS FOR GRADUATION.

ESL 046Grammar Review I3 Units54 lecture hoursEquivalent to: ESL 090

Grade Mode: Pass/No Pass, Standard Letter

Prerequisite(s): ESL 036 or placement is based on multiple assessment measures.

A course for high-intermediate ESL students seeking to improve their grammatical accuracy. Intensive review and practice of syntactic structures such as verb tense, tag questions, gerunds and infinitives, and phrasal verbs. One of three core courses in ESL Level 4. NOTE: THE UNITS EARNED FOR THIS COURSE MAY NOT BE APPLIED TOWARD THE 60 UNITS FOR GRADUATION.

ESL 053Bridge to College Literature3 Units54 lecture hours

Grade Mode: Pass/No Pass, Standard Letter

Prerequisite(s): Placement is based on multiple assessment measures or successful completion of ESL 044.

This fiction reading and vocabulary course is designed to help ESL students develop the skills necessary for analyzing and writing about literature in English at the college level. NOTE: THE UNITS EARNED FOR THIS COURSE MAY NOT BE APPLIED TOWARD THE 60 UNITS FOR GRADUATION.

ESL 054Bridge to College Reading3 Units54 lecture hours

Grade Mode: Pass/No Pass, Standard Letter

Prerequisite(s): Placement is based on multiple assessment measures or successful completion of ESL 044.

A reading and vocabulary course for advanced ESL students designed to improve their skills in the reading and analysis of academic text. Students will develop reading comprehension and study strategies in preparation for college-level coursework. NOTE: THE UNITS EARNED FOR THIS COURSE MAY NOT BE APPLIED TOWARD THE 60 UNITS FOR GRADUATION.

A course for advanced ESL students seeking to improve their grammatical accuracy in writing and speaking. Further review and practice of complex syntactic structures such as verb forms, tag questions, conditional statements, reported speech, modals and phrasal verbs, and subordinate clauses. NOTE: THE UNITS EARNED FOR THIS COURSE MAY NOT BE APPLIED TOWARD THE 60 UNITS FOR GRADUATION.

ESL 070American Idioms I1 Unit18 lecture hours

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Prerequisite(s): ESL 030 or placement is based on multiple assessment measures.

A course for intermediate ESL students. The course is designed to introduce to students the most frequently occurring idiomatic expressions, which in the colloquial speech are often heard outside the classroom. NOTE: THE UNITS FOR THIS COURSE MAY NOT BE APPLIED TOWARD THE 60 UNITS FOR GRADUATION.

This course prepraes high-intermediate and advanced ESL students for college-level writing. It provides a review of English fundamentals and practice in critical thinking, paragraph development and essay writing with an emphasis on exposition. Continued practice in special writing problems common to second language learners.

An advanced composition and reading course for ESL students. Instruction and practice in critical reading, expository writing and techniques for researching, documenting and writing a research paper. The course content parallels ENGL 101, offering reading and vocabulary for ESL students. This course is designed to help ESL students develop the skills necessary for analyzing and writing about literature in English at the college level.